{{Short description|Species of fern in the spleenwort family}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Speciesbox | image = | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |last1=Lambdon |first1=P.W. |last2=Stroud |first2=S. |last3=Gray |first3=A. |last4=Niissalo |first4=M. |last5=Renshaw |first5=O. |date=2012 |title=''Asplenium ascensionis'' |volume=2012 |article-number=e.T43918A2989782 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T43918A2989782.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Asplenium | species = ascensionis | authority = S.Watson | synonyms = }}

'''''Asplenium ascensionis''''' is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae that is endemic to Ascension Island. Its natural habitats are receding due to introduced vegetation. It is threatened by habitat loss.

==Distribution and habitat== ''A. ascensionis'' is endemic to central Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, where it grows on Green Mountain and the surrounding areas at altitudes of {{cvt|430-770|m}} above sea level.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=Ascension>{{cite web |author=Ascension Island Government |year=2015 |title=''Asplenium ascensionis'' species action plan |url=https://www.ascension.gov.ac/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ASPLENIUM-SAP-edited.pdf |publisher=Ascension Island Government Conservation Department |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918012716/https://www.ascension.gov.ac/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ASPLENIUM-SAP-edited.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Description== ''A. ascensionis'' is a small fern with a creeping habit.<ref name=Ascension/> The fronds measure {{cvt|3-6|in}} long with 15–25 irregularly-shaped pinnae on each side.<ref name=Watson>{{cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=Sereno |author-link1=Sereno Watson |year=1891 |title=Contributions to American Botany |journal=Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences |volume=26 |page=163 |issn=0199-9818 |lccn=sf86003040 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8866101 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref>

==Ecology== Adult ''A. ascensionis'' plants are capable of reproducing vegetatively, with small plantlets growing from the tips of the fronds, or sexually, with spores that are dispersed by the wind. Spores seem to require damp, shaded conditions to germinate, with most young plants and gametophytes occurring in sheltered crevices.<ref name=Ascension/>

==Conservation status== ''A. ascensionis'' is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature under criteria B1ab(iii) and B2ab(iii), based on its restricted area of occupancy and the decline of its habitat. It is primarily threatened by invasive species.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=Ascension/>

All known populations of ''A.&nbsp;ascensionis'' are located within the boundaries of Green Mountain National Park, a protected area, and the species is protected under a local wildlife protection ordinance that prohibits the taking or damaging of scheduled species.<ref name=Ascension/>

==References== {{Wikispecies}} {{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4808117}}

ascensionis Category:Vulnerable plants Category:Flora of Ascension Island Category:Plants described in 1891 Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxa named by Sereno Watson

{{Ascension-stub}} {{Polypodiales-stub}}